Florida police say Venus Williams entered intersection lawfully before crash

[rooster59]

Florida police say Venus Williams entered intersection lawfully before crash

By Bernie Woodall

 

FILE PHOTO: USA's Venus Williams reacts during her third round match against Belgium's Elise Mertens during the French Open at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France on June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Florida police said on Friday that a newly surfaced video shows that tennis star Venus Williams was acting lawfully when she drove her sports utility vehicle into an intersection before a fatal crash with another car on June 9.

 

Jerome Barson, 78, who was a passenger in a sedan that collided with the vehicle Williams was driving, was fatally injured. His family filed a wrongful death suit against Williams last week.

 

Williams, the former top-ranked tennis player in the world, on Friday won her third-round match at the Wimbledon tournament in England.

 

A statement from the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said a video, taken from the entrance to the gated community where Williams lives, indicates she acted lawfully in entering the intersection before the crash.

 

The statement said the video showed that a car not involved in the collision stalled Williams' progress, causing her to linger in the intersection. When the traffic light changed, an approaching car driven by Barson's wife, Linda, collided with Williams' vehicle.

 

The initial traffic report said Williams, 37, was at fault for failing to yield the right of way to Barson. But on Friday, Major Paul Rogers of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said a fuller investigation began after Barson's death on June 22.

 

He said police have not made a final determination of fault in the investigation.

 

The Barson family attorney, Michael Steinger, in a statement issued Friday, said the video "continues to support the fact that Ms. Williams remained in the intersection at a red light, violating the Barsons' right of way."

 

Williams' attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, on Friday did not immediately reply to an email requesting comment.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-08

[spidermike007]

I suspected this was the case. Of all the tennis players out there Venus is one of the classiest and least affected by fame and fortune. She seems very down to earth, and I know she is very well liked and respected on the tour. Glad to see they are not placing blame on her. All of us have either stopped at an intersection during a green light, or slowed down, to avoid slowing traffic, an obstacle, or a bad driver. That looks as if that was all that happened here. And someone who was not paying attention slammed into her, and are now apparently capitalizing on her fame. At least that is the way it appears, as tragic as the situation was.

 

I rank Venus right up there with Hingis, Federer, Djokivic, Wawrinka, and a few others, in terms of pure class, elegance, and grace under fire.

[stevenl]

29 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I suspected this was the case. Of all the tennis players out there Venus is one of the classiest and least affected by fame and fortune. She seems very down to earth, and I know she is very well liked and respected on the tour. Glad to see they are not placing blame on her. All of us have either stopped at an intersection during a green light, or slowed down, to avoid slowing traffic, an obstacle, or a bad driver. That looks as if that was all that happened here. And someone who was not paying attention slammed into her, and are now apparently capitalizing on her fame. At least that is the way it appears, as tragic as the situation was.

 

I rank Venus right up there with Hingis, Federer, Djokivic, Wawrinka, and a few others, in terms of pure class, elegance, and grace under fire.

Well liked and classy or not, she can make a mistake.

[humqdpf]

6 hours ago, stevenl said:

Well liked and classy or not, she can make a mistake.

But if you read the story it now appears that she did not make any mistake.

[stevenl]

36 minutes ago, humqdpf said:

But if you read the story it now appears that she did not make any mistake.

Agree. I was indirectly saying that she may be well liked on the tour, but that that very likely has no bearing on an accident situation.

[spidermike007]

55 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Well liked and classy or not, she can make a mistake.

 

Yes, but the point is, it does not appear she did make a mistake. A lot were quick to condemn her. All I was trying to say was that it was possible she was being unfairly blamed for the accident, and death.

[phantomfiddler]

In sunny England the car that drove into her car would be held as the one at fault, as the other driver was clearly not looking where she was going ie the road space in front of her. I once went through a red light that I never even saw due to a very bright but low lying setting sun straight in line with my direction. A car went through the green light and crashed straight into the side of my car, so rude, and they were held responsible ! To my train of thought Venus was not responsible for the unfortunate accident. S**t happens !